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Requiem [2006] – A Sober-Minded ‘Possession’ Movie

A majority of commercial films exorcises empathy, turning
individual personalities into types. Audiences tend to expect for a distinct
good and evil paths, so that they can be solaced by the filmmakers’ judgmental
vision. The presence of such paths plagues all genres, especially the Horror
films. The possession sub-genre in ‘horror’ repeatedly wishes to present the
glory of divine beings through the arduous fight with Lucifer or Old Nick or
simply devil. The naive, innocent, virginal girl who is usually possessed
becomes merely a vessel through which God quenches his enemies. The green
slime, self-inflicted wounds and the profane words becomes vital elements for
us to see persons on-screen as ‘types’. Although Friedkin’s unsettling
masterpiece “Exorcist” (1973) diffused layers of social elements into its
narrative, it only reached its undiminished fame through the head-turning,
spider-walk or green slime sequences. From then on, Hollywood has increasingly
clinged on to certain elements that treats the so-called ‘possessed’ as mere
pawns for providing entertainment.

The 2005 horror-thriller “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”, based
on the true story of West German girl Anneliese Michel, uses the standard
Hollywood ideas to showcase the struggles of a girl in strictly supernatural
terms. Anneliese Michel’s death (1952-76) gained wide-spread media attention, which
lashed at Church-approved old-fashioned exorcism rite (her parents & priest
were proven to be guilty parties in court). It was seen as a vital case about
misidentification of mental illness and religious hysteria. German film-maker
Hans-Christian Schmid’s“Requiem” (2006) tries to rationally understand the
conflicts that infested Anneliese. It may not have accurately followed the
real-life tale, but displays unbridled empathy for its central character.
“Requiem” is not a horror movie and stays away lousy sensationalism of American
possession movies.

Michaela (Sandra Huller) is an intelligent 21 year old girl,
who lives with her devoutly Catholic parents – Karl (Burghart Klaussner) & Marianne (Imogen Kogge) – and a younger sister in a small German town. She has
dreams of going to a university and to become a teacher. Michaela is so happy
to show her father the letter that confirms her place in university. But, her
mother asks “How can you go with that ‘thing’? The ‘THING’ is referred to
Michaela’s history of mental and physical breakdowns (epileptic seizures, grim
visions). The god-fearing mother also thinks that nothing good would come out
of a university education. However, with the support of her father, Michaela takes
a dorm room and focuses on her course on Pedagogy.

Michaela’s social life in the city revolves around smart
friend Hanna (Anna Blomeier) and a clumsy boyfriend Stefan (Nicholas Reinke).
Michaela excels in studies, improves her looks and develops her dressing sense.
She parties and likes the warmth of her boyfriends’ kiss. But, soon this sexual
and rational awakenings negatively affects her, as she once again starts to
have seizures and sees visions that calls her a ‘slut’. Michaela states that
something is stopping her from touching the rosary and seeks the local priest’s
(Walter Schmidlinger) advice, whose sane reply is “Who’s stopping you? The
devil? We believe in him and in God too, but they are symbols, not literal
things”. Nevertheless, a young clergyman (Jens Harzer) believes in the girl’s
religious fear. There’s no uncertainty in what happens to Michaela from then
on, but the girl’s downward spiral raises thought-provoking questions on
religious faith and human reasoning.

Spoilers Ahead

The film’s narrative has been exclusively presented from
Michaela point of view, which could have fizzled out, if not for powerful,
incredible performance of Sandra Huller (her first movie role). Unlike the
typical possession movies, we never get to see the vision that affects
Michaela, so as to clear-away the supernatural underpinning of the tale. The
intense suffering and uncontrolled energy must only be portrayed through
emotions and Huller excels in this aspect. She not only captures the rage that
stems from the disapproval of her god-fearing mother, but also displays the
warm emotional core that really clouds our eyes with tears in the end. That
final shot of Huller’s small smile & long gaze really gets at you and made
me think that her portrayal is truly a ‘requiem’ to Anneliese’s memory. Two of
my most favorite scenes, elevated by Huller are: the wildly erratic behavior
she displays towards the end; over-excited dance movements in the club, which
hauntingly exhibited the character’s need to cling to an identity or freedom.

Director Schmid’s unsensational approach to the story puts
us in the head of Michaela rather than anticipating a head-spinning moment. The
narrative is not only devoid of supernatural presence, but also extinguishes
far-fetched metaphors or symbols of evil. There’s no metaphysical vision or a
subtly loaded film-maker’s opinion on religious beliefs. There are potential
villains in the tale, but Schmid’s isn’t pointing out fingers; he remains staunchly subjective till the last shot. Apart from the lack of ‘visions’ Schmid
even stays away from showing the exorcism sessions. The film’s chief objective
is to show how compassion, the most significant element in all religions, is
replaced by archaic thoughts. It condemns the acerbic judgmental attitude of
the believers. So, if Schmid tried to extend the narrative till the girl’s
death, he might have been accused for the same thing, he is condemning, i.e.
being judgmental. Even though, Michaela’s mother disapproves her daughter in
various instances, she is also shown as an individual capable of love. The
muted tones and the hand-held cinematography may not satisfy those expecting
visceral impulses. Schmid’s directorial signatures reminded me of Von Trier’s
early low-budget works like “Breaking the Waves”, “Dancer in the Dark”, etc.

“Requiem” (90 minutes) is a brilliant character-driven film
that depicts the agonies inflicted by dysfunctional religious and familial
systems. It is a contemplative cinephile’s possession movie.

1 comment:

I have not seen this one. I think I will like it.But since you have a passion for movies, I am sure you will love reading my last post.I just attended Dubai International Film festival and it is about that.